Why WebMACS?¶

The Problem¶

Traditional lab monitoring setups rely on:

Proprietary SCADA software — expensive licenses, vendor lock-in, Windows-only
LabVIEW — powerful but complex, requires specialized skills, expensive per-seat licensing
Spreadsheets + manual logging — error-prone, no real-time visibility, no alerts
Custom scripts — no UI, no experiment management, breaks when the author leaves

None of these give you a browser-based, real-time dashboard with alerts and CSV export that runs on a €200 Raspberry Pi.

What Makes WebMACS Different¶

Capability	WebMACS	Proprietary SCADA	LabVIEW	Manual Logging
Cost	Free (open-source, MIT)	€5,000–50,000+	€3,000+ per seat	Free
Real-time dashboard	Browser-based	Desktop app	Desktop
Custom dashboards	Drag & drop widget builder	Proprietary	Custom code
Plugin system	Upload `.whl`, instant	Vendor-only	Custom code
Threshold alerts	Slack, Teams, webhooks	Proprietary	Custom code
CSV export	One-click, streaming			Manual
Runs on Raspberry Pi				N/A
No cloud required	Fully offline	Varies
Open REST + WebSocket API		Varies
Setup time	~5 minutes	Days / weeks	Hours / days	N/A
Vendor lock-in	None	High	Medium	None
Multi-user access	Admin + operator roles	Varies

Deep Dive: Custom Dashboards — No Code, Full Control¶

With proprietary SCADA, changing a dashboard layout means calling the vendor or writing custom scripts. With LabVIEW, it means editing a VI and recompiling.

With WebMACS, any operator can:

Click "New Dashboard" and name it (e.g., "Reactor Zone A")
Add widgets with a type picker and size presets (Small → Full Width)
Choose from 4 widget types:
Line Chart — real-time trend for any sensor
Gauge — at-a-glance value with colour-coded range
Stat Card — big number with label and unit
Actuator Toggle — ON/OFF control for valves, relays, motors
Link each widget to a live sensor event — data refreshes automatically
Create as many dashboards as needed — one per zone, process, or team
Share a dashboard with all users by marking it as global

No recompilation. No vendor call. No license upgrade.

Dashboard Guide →

Deep Dive: Plugin System — Your Hardware, Your Rules¶

With traditional SCADA systems, adding a new sensor type means waiting for the vendor to ship a driver update — or reverse-engineering a proprietary protocol. With LabVIEW, it means writing a new VI, rebuilding, and redeploying.

With WebMACS, you write a Python class, build a wheel, and upload it through the browser. Done.

How It Works¶

flowchart LR
    Dev["Write plugin.py<br/>(Python)"] --> Build["python -m build<br/>→ .whl file"]
    Build --> Upload["Upload via UI<br/>or REST API"]
    Upload --> Discover["Auto-discovered<br/>on restart"]
    Discover --> Data["Channels → Events<br/>→ Dashboards"]

What Makes It Unique¶

No recompilation — plugins are regular Python packages loaded at runtime
Built-in demo mode — every plugin can simulate realistic sensor data out of the box, no hardware needed for development
Conformance testing — inherit from PluginConformanceSuite and get 13 tests for free (lifecycle, channels, health, etc.)
Channel mapping — link any plugin channel to a WebMACS event with one click; data flows into dashboards, rules, webhooks, and CSV exports automatically
Sync and async — use DevicePlugin for async protocols (MQTT, OPC-UA) or SyncDevicePlugin for blocking libraries (serial, Modbus) — the SDK handles threading for you
Safety by design — define safe_value per output channel; on disconnect or error, actuators are driven to safe state automatically
Example included — a complete Weather Station example plugin ships in examples/custom-plugin/ with build instructions

Example: Add a Custom Sensor in 4 Steps¶

Step	What You Do	Time
1	Copy the example plugin and edit `get_channels()`	5 min
2	Implement `_do_connect()` and `_do_read()` for your protocol	15 min
3	Run `python -m build` to create a `.whl` file	10 sec
4	Upload via Plugins → Upload and create an instance	1 min

Total: ~20 minutes from idea to live data on your dashboard.

Compare that to weeks of vendor coordination or days of LabVIEW rewiring.

Bundled Plugins¶

WebMACS ships with three plugins — no installation required:

Plugin	Channels	Purpose
Simulated Device	9 (temperatures, pressures, flow, valve, heater)	Testing & demos without hardware
System Monitor	4 (CPU, memory, disk, temperature)	Host health monitoring
Revolution Pi	Dynamic (via piCtory)	Direct RevPi I/O access

The Bottom Line

Other systems force you to choose from the vendor's catalogue. WebMACS lets you connect anything that speaks a protocol — Modbus, MQTT, HTTP, serial, OPC-UA — with a Python class and a .whl upload.

Plugin Development Guide → Plugin User Guide →

Deep Dive: Open Integration — The Swiss Army Knife¶

Most monitoring systems are walled gardens. WebMACS is designed as a composable building block that connects to anything.

Three Integration Layers¶

graph TB
    subgraph WebMACS
        REST["REST API<br/>30+ endpoints"]
        WS["WebSocket<br/>Live streaming"]
        WH["Webhooks<br/>Event-driven push"]
    end

    REST -->|"GET/POST/PUT/DELETE"| Client["Custom Apps<br/>Scripts · Mobile"]
    WS -->|"Sub-second"| CustomUI["Custom Dashboards<br/>Grafana · HMI panels"]
    WH -->|"HMAC-signed POST"| Slack["Slack / Teams"]
    WH -->|"Automation"| NR["Node-RED"]
    WH -->|"Smart Home"| HA["Home Assistant"]
    WH -->|"Data Pipeline"| Cloud["AWS / Azure / S3"]

Layer	Best For	Example
REST API	CRUD, scripted pipelines, mobile apps	`GET /experiments/{id}/export/csv` → feed a reporting tool
WebSocket	Live dashboards, low-latency custom UIs	Stream values to Grafana or a wall-mounted HMI panel
Webhooks	Alerts, cross-system automation	`sensor.threshold_exceeded` → Slack alert + Node-RED safety shutdown

The Bottom Line

WebMACS doesn't replace your other tools — it powers them. Use the REST API to build, WebSocket to stream, and webhooks to react. Your lab's monitoring system becomes the data backbone of your entire workflow.

Integration Guide →

Ideal Use Cases¶

University Research Labs¶

Monitor fluidised-bed reactors, autoclaves, fermenters — with full experiment tracking and CSV export for thesis data.

Pilot Plants¶

Track temperature, pressure, and flow across multiple zones. Set threshold alerts to catch anomalies early.

Quality Assurance¶

Log every sensor reading with timestamps for compliance audits. Export complete data trails on demand.

Teaching Labs¶

Students interact via browser — no software installation needed. Each team gets their own dashboard view.

What You Get Out of the Box¶

Live dashboard — sensor cards, actuator toggles, trend charts with configurable time ranges
Custom dashboards — build your own widget layouts with line charts (incl. unit-labelled axes), gauges, stat cards, and actuator controls
Plugin system — upload custom device drivers as Python wheels; connect any sensor or protocol in minutes
Experiment tracking — named runs with automatic data linking and one-click CSV export
Alerting — threshold rules with Slack/Teams/webhook notifications and cooldown periods
Data export — streaming CSV downloads for Excel, Python, or MATLAB analysis
User management — admin and operator roles with JWT authentication
OTA updates — deploy new versions over USB, browser upload, or network
Full API — extend or integrate with anything via REST and WebSocket
Webhook integrations — HMAC-signed event delivery with retry logic

Open Source & Extensible¶

WebMACS is licensed under MIT. You can:

Build custom dashboards with widgets tailored to your process
Write and upload new device plugins for any sensor, actuator, or protocol
Integrate with Slack, Node-RED, Home Assistant, or any HTTP endpoint
Deploy on a Raspberry Pi and self-host with zero ongoing costs

Getting Started

Ready to try it? Follow the Quick Start Guide to have WebMACS running in under 5 minutes.

Get Started → View Architecture →